Heavy Rainfall Friday Triggers Widespread Flooding Across Northwest Indiana Region

Torrential rain that began Friday evening pushed streams and rivers across Northwest Indiana well above their banks, triggering a cascade of road closures throughout Lake and Porter counties and prompting the National Weather Service to issue a Flood Watch covering the region through Saturday morning.

Rainfall totals of 3 to 4 inches fell across parts of the area in a matter of hours, compounding a problem already weeks in the making. Recent rounds of heavy precipitation had left soils fully saturated and area creeks running high before Friday's storm even arrived, according to the National Weather Service, which warned that additional rainfall would have nowhere to go but over roads and into low-lying neighborhoods.

The Little Calumet River became one of the most disruptive flashpoints. High water forced the closure of the Northcote Avenue bridge between Hammond and Munster after water rose to the underside of the bridge deck. Kennedy Avenue at the Little Calumet River in Highland was shut down between 81st Street and the Interstate 80/94 interchange, and the eastbound ramps at Cline Avenue were also blocked. In Munster, Hohman Avenue closed at the I-80/94 underpass due to standing water. Hammond saw Calumet Avenue, also signed as US 41, shut between 141st Street and Sheffield Avenue.

Lake Station reported water flowing across State Road 51 at both Deep River bridges between 37th Avenue and Central Avenue by 7 a.m. Saturday, sending drivers searching for alternate routes. In Merrillville, Taft Street, which carries the State Road 55 designation, was blocked in two separate stretches: between 73rd and 61st, and again between 90th and 93rd. County Line Road in Hobart closed south of 10th Street.

Porter County saw its own significant disruptions. US 6 was closed between State Road 149 and County Road 200 West. County Road 950 North went under water between 550 East and the LaPorte County line. In Hebron, State Road 2 was shut entirely between Interstate 65 and US 231.

The Flood Watch for Lake, Porter, Benton, Jasper, and Newton counties expired at 10 a.m. CDT Saturday. The National Weather Service's Northern Indiana office said cooler, drier conditions were expected to settle in Sunday through Wednesday, offering relief to drainage systems still working through the backlog of runoff.